Author: emmaschramm

In a world of instant gratification and lightning speed electronics, I long for stillness, labor, and a practice of quiet. I want to take the time to not only see, but also enjoy beautiful things, extravagant and mundane beauty alike. This is, I think, a God-placed desire. While we live on earth we long for… Continue reading Mundane Beauty in a Sterilized World→

Deep down, I think that I have always been a skeptic. I have always doubted that God answers the prayers of His people. Not that He does not hear my prayers, but that He will answer them. With my mouth I have professed the truth, and may have even believed it at times, but most… Continue reading The Faithful God of a Skeptical Child→

Dear Women of My Childhood Church, About a year ago I wrote you a letter that I never finished, never sent. I had begun my writing in anger, but dwindled off in sadness. It was a letter that was not material to send. Reflecting upon my years as a child and young teen in… Continue reading To The Women of My Childhood Church→

I do not ever remember a time in my life where my family has not been touched by the loss of unborn children. Conversations about miscarriages, infertility, and adoption have been nearly as common as talking about what we should have to eat that week. My parents have not been afraid to talk about their… Continue reading The Church & Childlessness→

There was a time that I used to have to spend hours trying to format books of the Bible on 8x11 paper for study and annotating. Copying, double spacing, formatting verse marks, margins, and fonts, numbering pages, printing--I did it all, and spent many an hour doing so. I was happy to be able to… Continue reading I Love Crossway’s Scripture Journals→

A few years ago I was desperate for some structure in the area of my Bible highlighting. I had a small collection of highlighters, colored pencils, and micron pens that I would use to highlight, underline, and annotate during my daily devotions, but there was very little rhyme or reason to my method of using… Continue reading Color-Coding Your Bible Study→

I am sinful I am woman And I am Eve Every time my womb contracts with pain, I am reminded I speak with sharpened tongue And turn a cold shoulder like I have all power Yet my very heart that pumps my blood is beating to the rhythm of death My days are numbered Like… Continue reading I am Eve→

We don't always know when we're grieving. Perhaps, sometimes grief can come gently as it brutally breaks your heart. • If I'm being truthful, grief has been a daily battle this past year. It's been a year of the kind of grief that doesn't come as a shock, but is more like a dull throbbing--constant… Continue reading Grief in Light of the Cross→

I spent the summer of 2016 in the island country of Papua New Guinea, located above Australia. It was an intense time of cultural immersion while doing a tribal church-planting internship. My teammates and I spent hours and hours learning about the culture, language, church-planting, and Bible Translation. We were immersed in the world of… Continue reading How to Care for a Short-Term Missionary (Or Missionary in General)→

I have a hunger, and the only way that it can be quenched is by the Gospel. I am a teenager, and I have many earthy desires, but the greatest desire of my heart can only be filled with the Gospel—Jesus, only Jesus, can fill my greatest need. The moments when the Gospel has been… Continue reading I am Hungry /// Feeding Teens the Gospel→